Thanks, But No Thanks: Phaseone

Phaseone – “Confessio Amantis”

Phaseone – “Love Test (Only)”

When I interviewed Phaseone back in February, he told me his new album Thanks But No Thanks was going to drop in just a few weeks. Well, a few weeks turned into a few months, and finally, last Thursday, he dropped the new album with a simple tweet. So much for breaking news.

Creatively, TBNT is night and day from its 42-track predecessor of digitized neo-soul, Mad Weight. The album opens with “Marty & Sonietta,” a track built around a lattice of repeated synth lines and mechanical gurgles that call to mind French composer Jean-Michel Jarre, and even when the percussion kicks in on the blended follow-up “Temp Tags/Starfox,” the upward lilt of the keyboards keep it sounding more like Black Moth Super Rainbow at their poppiest than anything that might reflect Phase’s hip-hop work in the past. That’s not to say he’s left his roots untouched, by any means. One of the strongest tracks on the album, “Love Test (Only),” comes from the same brave new school of robo-soul that Kanye founded with 808s & Heartbreak (which, yes, is arguably more electro-pop than hip-hop, but I’m not here to play referee over minor inter-genre squabbles). Downtempo, ambient hip-hop, electronic, dubstep, soundtrack to a theoretical sci-fi thriller, whatever you want to call it — this is mighty good stuff.

Plus, one of the tracks posted above contains a reference to a massive late-14th century narrative poem, which the Lit dork in me feels obliged to point out. Can you guess which one?

Click here to download Thanks But No Thanks.

More:
Phaseone Remixes – Panda Bear, Burial, & Grouper

Phaseone: Interview + Jay Dee Remix